MY DRAGSTRIP LEARNING EXPERIENCE...

[GARY J]

I have been to the dragstrip plenty of times, but it has always been on street tires(with the exception of taking my old Cobra to the local 1/8th mile on slicks twice 6 years ago) and with half of the power I am making now. I want to participate in the Nationals, but I don't want to show up unprepared, so I decided to get a little pratice in.

I learned at the last minute that there was going to be a track day in Bradenton. I decided to sign up, because I knew it would take a little time to get the car dialed in and get a good starting point for all of my AEM and tire pressure settings. We get to the track, and get the car unloaded and all of our stuff set up. We set the tire pressure and got ready to make a shake down pass. That's when I learn that my car is burn out challenged. I don't have a line lock, so I have to power brake it. Well, those little skinnies just didn't seem to have what it took to hold the damn car still so I could roast the rears for a few seconds.(I found out later in the day what I was doing wrong, but more on that later) I would pop the clutch and switch my left foot over to the brake(like I have done plenty of times on the street) but the damn ass end would start to slide off to one side or the other pointing me about 45 degrees to the left or the right. Obviously I would have to let out, and the tires were simply not hot enough. On the first pass I decided to just ease it off of the line, and get a feel for it. I took off really easy and got into it a little late. I was pleased to see that the car clicked off a 10.4 @ 143.5.

The next two runs were some trial and error runs where I was trying to find my ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to drag racing. They resulted in an aborted run(because I blew the launch) and another 10.4 (spinning the tires).

The fourth pass was the best of the day. I got another pitiful burnout, but I left the line with a smaller amount of tire spin. It resulted in a 1.65 60ft(aweful... I know, give me a break) and a 10.07 @ 145.34. This was when the track really started getting hot.

CLICK HERE FOR 10.07 PASS

I backed that run up with another pitiful burnout and a 1.7 60ft that resulted in a 10.17 @ 144.30. I was getting frustrated. I knew that this car had a lot more in it, but I was having a hard time findind the extra 10ths. Just after this pass we stopped 30 minutes for lunch(at about 1:00pm).

After lunch, there was no traction to be found. I ran a 10.24 @ 144.55 feathering the throttle in 1st. I backed that up with a run that I hazed the tires in the first three gears and ran a 10.3 @ 144.3.

CLICK HERE FOR THAT VIDEO

This was about the time I finally learned what I was doing wrong on the damn burnout. We finally figured out that I was taking too much time to move my left foot from releasing the clutch to hitting the brake pedal. The car would get a little forward momentum and the skinnies just couldn't bring the car to a stop. This resulted in the slicks simply dragging the car forward, or to one side. I made the transition as quickly as I could, and it worked. It looked like I was using a line lock. I was finally able to get a good burnout. Unfortunately, IMO, the track had gone south and the conditions were not there.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GOOD BURNOUT

I heard the guy with the red SRT-10 say that he has been to this track several times, and his best run in the past was an 11.8. He said the best he could get this day was a 12.80, and that he was down about 8mph. I talked to a couple of other people there who observed similar results.

So there it is. At the end of the day, the car ran flawlessly, nothing broke, and we made it home in one piece. I was hoping for better times, but I know it probably takes a little time to get it down. I learned a lot about my car, and the techniques needed to become a competitive drag racer. There were a couple of moments when I thought,"maybe I should just stick to roll-ons", but I realized that it is probably not common to go out and hit it out of the park the first time out. It takes a little practice.

I want to thank Ward for going out of his way to help everyone out. He did a great job keeping everyone in the loop. I want to thank Germaine, Tina, John, and Ryan for helping with the filming and setup. Chad was a huge help giving me advice, and showing me the ropes. Thanks a lot man .

I think the event was great. The racing was cool, but I enjoyed being around the viper guys even more. Larry Macedo was a really cool guy (he even shared some of his KFC at the track). John Canal was an SOB at the go cart track, but he was pretty cool in the end.

I have to say that I now have tons of respect for the racers on this site.(Chad, Tony, Ward, JasonH, ScottW, etc.) It isn't as easy as it looks. I hope to be at that level soon. I guess it will come in time.

Here are a couple of other cool views...

CLICK HERE FOR DRIVER CAM

CLICK HERE FOR FORWARD VIEW

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[MAVERICK]

Great post Gary! Really learned a lot... thanks

 

[Woody]

Gary,

Remember practice makes perfect. You can't always knock em dead the first time out. You have an awesome setup and I know it won't be long before you are turning some Great times!

 

[twinvipers]

Gary did a great job out first time with that beast. It has deep nines in it.

 

[Casey]

Great job Gary!!

Just wait until next time. Better conditions and you'll be knocking 1/2 second off!

 

[EA6BPilot]

One of the burnout techniques I discovered through trial and error was to keep my right heel on the brake, push the gas with my toe, and slowly let the clutch out until I was spinning the tires. Granted, I don't have anywhere near the HP you have, nor am I running skinnies, but it seems to work well with the BFGs I run. Just my .02. (BTW, I am by no means an expert drag racer, but I am learning just like you).

 

[SingleMalt]

Best way I've found (albeit a little more difficult in the Viper versus a vehicle with closer pedal spacing) --

Wear tennis shoes because that'll give you a little more width and do a heel/toe as described above. Slick as snot once you get the hang of it.

 

[GARY J]

Thanks a lot guys. I'm not sure why I didn't try that in the first place. It sounds like that would work much better than the way I was doing it. I knew I kept you guys around for some reason...

 

[GARY J]

*****,
You're a class act my man. I really enjoyed hanging out with you. Can't wait to get together at hte next event.

 

[Woody]

Gary,

The feeling is mutual!

 

[Cudaman]

Gary you ran times like a seasoned drag racer and shifting the car like it had an auomatic in it.

Cudaman

 

[syclone1157]

Gary, I am interested in what your reaction times were. It appears that you are reacting a little late. With the amount of traction that you have I believe that you can stage shallow and gain a small jump on the light. By this I mean that the staging beams are represented in the tree by the top two lights. When you activate the first light you know that the second light is just inches away. When you stage deep it means that you drive as far forward as possible without crossing the first beam or turning off the first light. When you stage shallow you want to just barely trigger the second staging light. The difference can be around twelve inches depending on how tall your front tire is. What this means is that you can actually release the clutch before the green light is on and therefore getting a " head start" on the lights. It can be very tricky to get this dialed in exactly, but works great when mastered. By looking at the video I think that you can drop the clutch on the 3&. The three yellow lights are represented by one, two, three, and the space in between is the &. You leave on "THREE &" and you are in 9 sec territory without a problem! Good luck

 

[GARY J]

Thanks Cudaman.

Syclone,
I was not going for the reaction time. I just let the light turn green and left when I was ready. This day was more about getting the launch down. As soon as I get past that, you will see some respectable RT's... I promise. Thanks for the input.

 

[GR8_ASP]

Staging shallow reduces your et because the first 12 inches or so do not count. So if you are after the best et you should be staging as shallow as possible. More variation for reaction time, but better et. Essentially no impact on mph.

 

[Cudaman]

The whole drag racing crew had as much fun as Gary.



Cudaman

 

[99 R/T 10]

Gary, You did well. Next time everybody gets together for some racing, let's line up!

 

[1TONY1]

Gary, I am interested in what your reaction times were. It appears that you are reacting a little late. With the amount of traction that you have I believe that you can stage shallow and gain a small jump on the light. By this I mean that the staging beams are represented in the tree by the top two lights. When you activate the first light you know that the second light is just inches away. When you stage deep it means that you drive as far forward as possible without crossing the first beam or turning off the first light. When you stage shallow you want to just barely trigger the second staging light. The difference can be around twelve inches depending on how tall your front tire is. What this means is that you can actually release the clutch before the green light is on and therefore getting a " head start" on the lights. It can be very tricky to get this dialed in exactly, but works great when mastered. By looking at the video I think that you can drop the clutch on the 3&. The three yellow lights are represented by one, two, three, and the space in between is the &. You leave on "THREE &" and you are in 9 sec territory without a problem! Good luck

I am unclear if you know this or not, but.... You do know that reaction time has nothing to do with your et. Right ? Now like the Viper SRT said, shallow staging will give "slightly" better et. I don't know that I will sign up on 12" though. Maybe that's what you guys tell your wife. LOL

 

[99 R/T 10]

Gary, I am interested in what your reaction times were. It appears that you are reacting a little late. With the amount of traction that you have I believe that you can stage shallow and gain a small jump on the light. By this I mean that the staging beams are represented in the tree by the top two lights. When you activate the first light you know that the second light is just inches away. When you stage deep it means that you drive as far forward as possible without crossing the first beam or turning off the first light. When you stage shallow you want to just barely trigger the second staging light. The difference can be around twelve inches depending on how tall your front tire is. What this means is that you can actually release the clutch before the green light is on and therefore getting a " head start" on the lights. It can be very tricky to get this dialed in exactly, but works great when mastered. By looking at the video I think that you can drop the clutch on the 3&. The three yellow lights are represented by one, two, three, and the space in between is the &. You leave on "THREE &" and you are in 9 sec territory without a problem! Good luck

I am unclear if you know this or not, but.... You do know that reaction time has nothing to do with your et. Right ? Now like the Viper SRT said, shallow staging will give "slightly" better et. I don't know that I will sign up on 12" though. Maybe that's what you guys tell your wife. LOL

 

[GARY J]

I don't know that I will sign up on 12" though. Maybe that's what you guys tell your wife. LOL

 

[Tom Welch]

From the looks of the pictures, there was not enough water in the burnout area or you did not get enough water on your tires....thats why you spin sideways....one tire wants to grab as it is not as wet as the other.

Line loks are not required to do a good burnout, just proper technique. I have never used a line-lock.

FIVE Items required to make a good burnout everytime;

1. Get tires wet, then move up and out of the water box,
this can be done simply by tapping the throttle as you pull through the water box allowing the tires to do at least one complete rotation in the water. Keep in mind, these tires have a rollout of about 90", if the water box is only 24" long, you have only gotten 25% of your tire wet..hence a poor burnout or worse...broken parts, slipping clutch, broken rear ends will occur when trying to start a burnout
with dry tires.

2. Position your car in "the Groove". This will help keep the car straight.

3. Burnout in 1st gear only....start by revving to about
3,000 rpms and quickly dumping the clutch and grapping the
brake pedal..the car will not move. Accelerate to about 5,000 rpms for about 5 seconds....no more than that.
Here is the important part of this step;

You will feel the car want to move forward as the tires get hot..as these tires do not require much heat. If they get too hot, they do not work as good. With a linelock, it is difficult to "feel" the car. The car will want to move because the tires are grabbing and drying.

4. The move from the burnout box is just as important..when the car lets you know that it is ready to move forward, do so by releasing the brake but not the throttle. Let the car lunge forward while releasing the throttle so that the tires stop spinning in the well dried area forward of any water that has been drug forward by poor burnouts.

5. IMMEDIATELY MOVE TO THE STARTING LINE...PREFERRABLY WITHOUT STOPPING. When your tire stops moving, it will transfer the heat that you built up into its carcas to the
track surface. You want this heat transfered at the strarting line for the best launch. I go right from the box to the first bulb of the line, then let the tires to their job.

6. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP. Do steps 1-5 exactly the same every time and you will maximize your e.t and parts life.

 

[syclone1157]

1TONY1 did I mention that I am a MEXICAN!!!!!!!!!

 

[GARY J]

Tom,
Thanks a lot. Very informative post...